If anyone out there is still using Microsoft’s IE6 browser, this week adds another reason its time to upgrade: POODLE (or Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption). Now that’s a mouthful. It is the most recent technological vulnerability discovered by some engineers at Google.  The issue revolves around an older SSL certificate technology (SSL 3.0) and the way data is sent using this protocol.

While the SSL 3.0 technology is 15 years old, some who use older browsers (most especially those who somehow are still using IE6) are vulnerable to this issue.

The answer is simple, especially with software that deals with the Internet; be sure you stay as close to the most current release of your software (browsers especially) as you can.  Security engineers are constantly at work looking and providing fixes for vulnerabilities that can lead to hackers gaining control of your computers and/or your data.  When they find an issue, the engineers release patches for their software. But if you never upgrade or install these patches, you are leaving yourself open to attack.

It might be a pain at times, but staying current with your computer software is vital  these days…